Output Power-Control Loop Design for GSM Mobile Phones

by Alex Gil-Garcia, Applications Specialist,

Agilent Technologies, Semiconductor Products Group

Why do we need to control the output power level of mobile phones? There are a number of very
good reasons: to prevent intermodulation in base station receivers, to prevent interference with
other mobile phones, and to minimize power consumption in the mobile phone -- using the
minimum power necessary for reliable communication with the selected base station, based on
distance.

The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) GSM standards body defines GSM specifications in
TS 45.005 Radio Transmission and Reception. This document specifies the nominal output power
levels, and accepted tolerance of GSM mobile transmitters, under nominal and extreme conditions.
Nominal conditions refer to ambient temperature with nominal voltage supply, and extreme
conditions to a combination of extreme values of supply voltage and temperature.

The radio transceiver operating voltage for most components in current mobile phone technology is
2.8 V, which is set by voltage regulators. However, the PA needs to be connected directly to the
battery, since a higher dc current is required to deliver the necessary output power. The GSM
technical specification specifies that, by example, three NiCd battery cells with a nominal 3.6 V
should have a lower extreme voltage tolerance of -0.36 V. With regards to temperature variations,
the GSM TS specifies extreme conditions between –20°C and +55°C.

Control of nominal output power is done in 2-dB steps. The maximum output power levels for
handset mobile station class 4 GSM is +33 dBm (850/900 MHz) and for class 1 DCS and PCS is
+30 dBm (1800/1900 MHz). The dynamic range of power control is 28 dB for the 850/900 MHz
band and 30 dB for the 1800/1900 MHz band. Table 1 shows power levels and characteristic
tolerance values.
 GSM Standard: 3GPP TS 45.005 Mobile Station Output Power Levels

Nominal Output Power Tolerance (dB) for Conditions

Power Control Level
(dBm) Normal Extreme
900/ 1800 1900 900/ 1800 1900 900/ 1800 1900 900/ 1800 1900
850 850 850 850
29 22-29 36 Reserved ±2 Reserved ±2.5 Reserved
0-2 30 30 39 34 33 ±2 ±3 ±2 ±2,5 ±4 ±2.5
3 31 31 37 32 32 ±3 ±3 ±2 ±4 ±4 ±2.5
4 0 0 35 30 30 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
5 1 1 33 28 28 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
6 2 2 31 26 26 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
7 3 3 29 24 24 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
8 4 4 27 22 22 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
9 5 5 25 20 20 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
10 6 6 23 18 18 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
11 7 7 21 16 16 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
12 8 8 19 14 14 ±3 ±3 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4
13 9 9 17 12 12 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4 ±5 ±5
14 10 10 15 10 10 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4 ±5 ±5
15 11 11 13 8 8 ±3 ±4 ±4 ±4 ±5 ±5
16 12 12 11 6 6 ±5 ±4 ±4 ±6 ±5 ±5
17 13 13 9 4 4 ±5 ±4 ±4 ±6 ±5 ±5
18 14 14 7 2 2 ±5 ±5 ±5 ±6 ±6 ±6
19-31 15-28 15 5 0 0 ±5 ±5 ±5 ±6 ±6 ±6

Table 1: Power Levels And Characteristic Tolerance Values For GSM Mobile Transmitters

How The PA Output Power Level Is Determined

The quest for longer battery life drives mobile phone designers to keep output power levels as close
as possible to the nominal values. In the standard transmit architecture the front end of a transmitter
will have a minimum loss of around 1.5 dB with an additional 0.5 dB of mismatch loss at the
antenna port. It is therefore assumed that the PA output power level needs to be 2 dB higher than
the system reference requirements in order to compensate for the loss between the PA and antenna.

Required mobile output signal strength is determined by the distance between the mobile and the
base station and, to a certain degree, by environmental conditions. Signal strength information is
sent by the base station to the mobile using the BCH (broadcast channel) and the phone controller
determines the output power level required at its location. The output power level is set by a
voltage-controlled variable-gain PA. The mobile controller checks required output power level
against a lookup table containing corresponding PA control voltage levels that have been written
during the alignment stage of the phone manufacturing process.

Specifically, individual voltage-controlled PAs have under extreme conditions, and even under
typical operating conditions, significant differences between their response to control voltage levels
because of variations in operating environment and mass volume manufacturing limitations. The
generalized solution is to achieve output power control using feedback circuitry.
GSM Transmit Signal Characteristic

Every time slot or “normal burst” needs to fit in the time/power mask of Fig. 1, with its controlled
amplitude level ranging between +5 to +33 dBm in EGSM (Extended GSM) bands. Therefore, the
requirement is for 28 dB of effective output power dynamic range. The spectrum of the signal
within its bandwidth referred to the noise floor, or residual output power, should be –59 dBc or
–54 dBm, whichever is greater.
dB

+4
+1
-1
-6

- 30

(147 bits)
t
10 µs 8 µs10 µs 542.8µs 10 µs 8 µs 10 µs

Fig. 1: Time Mask For Normal-Duration Bursts Of GMSK Modulation

Automatic Gain Control (AGC)

AGC is widely used in communication systems to maintain constant signal strength. As mentioned,
changes in performance of each individual PA, tolerances in different components of the transmitter
chain, supply voltage variations and variations in performance with frequency are all intrinsic to the
system at nominal temperature. Mobile phone power level performance under extreme conditions of
voltage and temperature is left to guaranteed component tolerances and to the AGC loop circuitry.

A typical AGC loop (Fig. 2) is a feedback system comprising a forward gain stage (A), feedback
gain (β) and a signal comparison stage that generates a differential error signal. The AGC loop is
analyzed in terms of its closed-loop gain (forward transfer function) and open-loop gain. R(s) is the
input amplitude and C(s) represents the output amplitude.
Vref R(s) E(s) C(s)
(+) Σ A
(-)

B(s)
β

Control loop relevant equations:

Closed-loop gain: C(s) / R(s) = A / (1+Aβ)
Open-loop gain: B(s) / R(s) = Aβ
Characteristic equation: 1 / (1+Aβ)

Fig. 2: Typical AGC Loop

The response of an AGC loop to system output amplitude fluctuations -- changes in the C(s) value
-- depends on the closed-loop transfer function, since the R(s) reference signal will be fixed (a
characterized value at every output power level of the mobile phone system). Variations in the
forward gain value, A, due to voltage supply, operating temperature or drive, is what will originate
those amplitude fluctuations at the output C(s). Control loop feedback gain β has to be designed to
respond to those amplitude fluctuations and correct them in order to obtain a constant steady-state
output signal C(s).

The problem for the loop designer is to obtain a model of the response of A in order to determine β
so the system keeps C(s) constant while meeting control loop stability criteria (discussed later).

All real amplifiers have a number of internally-compensated poles, meaning that they can be
represented as having a single pole above the higher operating frequencies. The PA in the loop can
therefore be modeled as having a transfer function with variable gain and a dominant pole above the
operating frequencies -- somewhere above 1 GHz in the case of a GSM power amplifier.
Vs ( w) A(Vapc ) jw
Typical PA gain in the frequency domain : = ; with its pole at w = w a
Ve( w) w
1+ j
wa
The design of β, in addition to the linear gain required to optimize the response of the different
components used in the control loop (the GSM system will require an attenuator, comparator and
reference voltage source), might require an integrator, depending upon the loop type. Each
integrator within the loop will add a pole:
Vs( s ) 1 1 j
In the frequency domain : = = ; with its pole at w =
Ve( s ) 1 + RCs 1 + RCjw RC

In control theory the number of poles of the transfer function is what determines its type. Poles are
values of s (jω) that make the denominator of the closed loop transfer function equal to 0 (note: this
would be the same as making the open loop transfer function equal to -1). The loop "type" refers to
the order of the open-loop transfer function pole. The number of poles required in the open-loop
transfer function (Aβ) to obtain constant output signal will be determined by the way the output
signal amplitude changes. The amplitude will generally follow a step, ramp or parabolic function.

A loop with an amplitude variation following a step function is of type 0 and needs no integrator in
the open-loop transfer function. Amplitude variations following a ramp function will characterize a
loop type 1 which needs one integrator in the open loop transfer function. Amplitude variations
following a parabolic function will characterize a loop type 2 which would need two integrators.

With a non-continuous (due to the characteristic TDMA time multiplexing) fast response control
loop, all changes in amplitude in the control loop input can be regarded as instantaneous, hence can
be explained as following a step function model. In such cases, no integrator is required in the
feedback transfer function (β).

The loop design exercise will then be fundamentally about the implementation of the error
correction or comparator. Once the transfer function of the comparator is determined, an adequate
op amp implementation can be selected to meet the characteristic loop gain and speed requirements.
Voltage-Controlled PA

The output of the transmit voltage-controlled oscillator (TxVCO) will typically have an amplitude
tolerance of ±2 dB with a nominal output power of around +5 dBm. At this stage the RF carrier
with the modulation information is ready to be amplified by the PA. With a PA input power level of
around 0 dBm, the power control loop is required to control that power level following the GSM
specified output power level steps from +5 dBm to +33 dBm.

To illustrate the response of a GSM PA we have plotted (Fig. 3) the actual response of the Agilent
ACPM-7891 PA against control voltage for the GSM, DCS and PCS bands. The input to the PA
would be a GMSK modulated RF carrier of constant power level at 0 dBm and the PA maximum
output level is around +35 dBm. Input RF carrier and Vcontrol are both pulsed following the GSM
TDMA characteristic response. This is a period of 4.615 ms with a duty cycle of 12.5% for standard
GSM (1/8). The graph clearly reflects the characteristic output power response of the PA against
voltage control with a high slope at lower power levels and flat gain response as the PA saturates.

ACPM7891 response
40
35
30
Output Power (dBm)

25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4
Vcontrol (V)
GSM DCS PCS

Fig. 3: Response Of Agilent ACPM-7891 PA Vs. Control Voltage In GSM/DCS/PCS Bands

Power Sampling In GSM Mobile Phone Control Loop

Control loop designs need to be linked to specific mobile transmitter radio design architectures. The
first step, therefore, should be to identify the ideal control loop model based on the components of
the radio transmitter. There are three main factors than need to be taken into account:
1. Output and feedback mobile radio signals are at RF while the voltage reference signal is dc.
Feedback monitoring signals can be also obtained by PA current sampling, which should be
proportional to the PA output power level
2. The control loop system requires a mechanism to convert the RF feedback into dc to be
compared against the reference. Typical power-sampling schemes use diode detectors,
which are intrinsically nonlinear (linear techniques such as logarithmic detection can also be
used, although with added complexity)
3. Gain nonlinearity of the power amplifier under different Vreference control conditions and
the nonlinearity of a Schottky diode detector
The block diagram of Fig. 4 shows control loop components used in a mobile phone. There is a gain
stage in the comparator (C) and temperature compensation at the detector diode stage (T) to
compensate for diode detector forward voltage, Vf, variation with temperature.

Comparator Power amplifier

Vref Nighthawk response

R(s) E(s) C(s)

40
Ou 35
30

Σ
tp
ut 25

C
Po 20
we 15
r 10
(d 5
B 0
m) -5

Α
-10

(+)
-15

(-)
-20
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4
Vcontrol (V)

Diode detector &

Coupler
temperature compensation
Vout

B(s) T
β Pinput

Fig. 4: Control Loop Components Used In Mobile Phone

Loop Gain and Bandwidth

The objective of the control loop is to compensate for any variations at the PA (A) due to changes
in performance, temperature or voltage supply with a fixed-voltage reference level, ensuring that
the output power level C(s) is constant. This has to be achieved for each power step or fixed Vref
levels. The nonlinear PA and detector diode response causes a variation of the closed-loop gain
C(s)/R(s) at different output power levels: a factor of 1 for an output power level of +5 dBm to a
factor of 6 for an output power level of +33 dBm. These nonlinearities in the detector and PA
dictate a high level of discrimination at Vref for high power levels, and a very low level of
discrimination for lower power levels. The accuracy of the Vref voltage control source needs to be
sufficient for the system to meet the tolerance requirements in the GSM output power level
specifications. The GSM standards have taken this into account and the tolerance at low power
levels in extreme conditions is ±6 dB.

We have previously seen that another requirement of GSM systems is for the carrier to meet a
certain time mask specification. The rising and falling envelope of any switched RF carrier will
generate transient spurious response. These need to be kept under certain limits; hence it is
necessary to “shape” the profiles to minimize spurious emissions. The Vout reference DAC splits
the 28 µs of allocated time for the profiles into a number of amplitude registers. The common
number of registers is 16, each lasting for 1.75 µs, corresponding to a minimum DAC speed in the
region of 600 kHz.

A loop bandwidth of 1.0 MHz to 1.2 MHz is commonly accepted since the design rule will be the
use of a bandwidth of approximately twice the sampling speed (2 x 571 kHz). This needs to be
taken into account in the loop design to limit the loop bandwidth and consequently reduce feedback
signals to the PA control input. For this reason a loop filter is generally added to the system.
Control Loop Components Definition

The required dynamic range of the control loop, wide nonlinearity of the response at block level
(PA and power detector) and variation with temperature of Vf at the diode detector, make the
control loop design an interesting challenge. Three elements need to be correctly specified:
• Diode detector: To assure that its dynamic range covers the required input power range,
adequate selection of the diode’s biasing conditions and input power level needs to be made.
The selection of the best-suited coupling factor and adequate 50 Ω RF termination needs to
be provided at the diode input. The output load should assure optimum functionality of the
diode by setting its bias current. RF decoupling capacitors at the diode output will remove
any RF signal harmonic energy
• Temperature Compensation: There is a strong dependency with temperature of the detector
diode junction resistance (Rj) and consequently with the forward voltage drop (Vf). This
difference in voltage drop with temperature may add to the rectified RF signal with the
consequent detection of the wrong power level. The solution is to use an identical diode
working in the same way that the one used for RF detection biased identically. Temperature
compensation of the offset term (RF detected) is obtained if the bias current of each diode is
equal. Different compensation schemes circuits can be used with those diodes, but the basic
concept for compensation is to use the identical Vf variation in temperature of one diode to
compensate for the variation in the other
{Agilent has used two different temperature compensation schemes experimentally. One
control loop uses a differential model (900-MHz control loop) and the other one uses a
feedback model (1800-MHz control loop). Both temperature compensation schemes worked
well, maintaining the maximum variation from nominal condition below ±1 dB at maximum
power levels and meeting also the extreme condition specifications at power levels 17 - 19}
• Comparator stage: The desired response of the comparator corresponds to an error amplifier
with variable positive reference input voltage. This is a circuit that will try to dynamically
correct by increasing or decreasing the PA control voltage of any performance variation that
may cause a deviation from the wanted output power level

The linear expression that corresponds to that wanted response can be obtained by using an
inverting op amp with a non-inverting positive reference. Its transfer function is:
Vout = (Vref*Rf/Rn)+Vref-(Vinput*Rf/Rn).

Appropriate values given to Rf and Rn achieve the required gain. Fig. 5 is a proposed design.

Ω
33kΩ

Ω 100pF
0Ω
VDETOUT

Ω
820Ω VCONTROL
Ω
4.7kΩ -
33pF +
180pF
10k

VBBREF
68pF

Fig. 5: Proposed Design For GSM Comparator

Conclusions

A GSM transmitter system has been explained together with a description of closed-loop gain
control theory and practical implementation of a power control circuitry in a GSM mobile phone
transmitter. Loop type, gain, bandwidth and stability have been discussed linked with a number of
specific mobile radio design considerations. The proposed control loop design has been
implemented using an Agilent ACPM-7891 E-pHEMT PA. Output power is controlled in 2-dB
steps across the required range and power level variations under extreme conditions are well within
specified tolerances.

The following table summarizes the results under nominal and extreme conditions:
SAMPLE_#1 SAMPLE_#1
Frequency = 900MHz Frequency = 1800MHz
Nominal Vbatt = 3.6V Nominal Vbatt = 3.6V
Use of feedback temperature compensation design Use of differential temperature compensation design

Pout (dBm) Pout (dBm)

Vbatt: 3V Vbatt: 3.6V Vbatt: 4.2V Max dB Vbatt: 3V Vbatt: 3.6V Vbatt: 4.2V Max dB
Temp variation Temp variation
33.1 34 34.22 0.9 30.14 30.91 31.2 0.77
+55 25 25.15 25.24 0.15 +55 21.96 21.91 21.98 0.07
9 9.7 10.2 0.7 2.2 4.1 4.7 1.9
33.22 34.01 34.18 0.79 30.24 31.04 31.35 0.8
+25 24.8 24.94 25.01 0.14 +25 22 21.98 22.05 0.07
7.8 7.4 9 1.6 2.9 4.6 5.1 1.7
33.36 33.97 34.09 0.61 30.38 31.33 31.69 0.95
-20 24.3 24.44 24.52 0.14 -20 22.07 22.02 22.1 0.08
3.5 4.7 5.3 1.2 3.2 4.9 5.4 1.7

Table 2: Measured Performance Of Demonstration GSM Mobile Transmitter Designs:

Using Feedback And Differential Temperature Compensation